Letters to the Editor: Coronavirus to stay

The United States has succumbed to coronavirus. It has already been reported that the United States will not be able to eradicate the Coronavirus permanently. Needless to say, another country in this case. But a day will come when corona will be there. But there will be no pandemic. The corona will not be out of control. The risky patient will overflow, while the Corona will remain. Many medical scientists have predicted that this virus will spread like normal seasonal influenza. Feelings will be the same. Dr Arnold Monto (MD), a professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, says there is no standard for determining which pandemic is the same as which pandemic. The subject matter is determined based on visual acuity. Dr Arnold is the Acting Head of the US Food and Drug Administration's Vaccine and Related Organic Products Advisory Committee. He also said that there is no basic law or rule for determining the pandemic. The incidence of a disease is determined based on how you control it. The difference is that our vaccines are more effective than ever before. Amidst so much frustration and despair, the good news is the power of vaccination. The bad news is that viruses can transform and evolve. No one can predict what the future holds for the Coronavirus. In the meantime, variants of the Coronavirus, especially Delta variants, are being transformed. Dr Arnold says that the evolutionary process that has led to the emergence of all these variants has led us to see the same trend spread all over the world. As a result, the announcement of the end of the Coronavirus pandemic has become very complicated. Other health workers like him have predicted the virus. This virus will behave like any other seasonal virus in the future. Dr Arnold says, "I have no idea if the Sars-Cov-2 virus is taking the form of a seasonal pattern. But one thing to keep in mind is that most of the viruses that cause infections in our respiratory tract are seasonal. SARS Coronavirus is behaving like that. However, we need to keep an eye on it. When a disease persists in the population, it does not infect large populations. Then the disease is called endemic."

The Corona pandemic has spread rapidly since early 2020. Then the World Health Organization (WHO) predicted. The WHO said Coronavirus seems to be another pandemic virus in our community. This means that the virus will never leave us. Therefore, every Indian must be alert and cautious. Dutch Philosopher Desiderius Erasmus 1500 AD says the phrase "prevention is better than cure" should be remembered by everyone, of course.

Towards the end, I, as a health worker, humbly urge everyone to follow personal hygiene and hygiene rules.

Heramba Nath,

Hindumaijali, Kamrup.

Spitting

The Guwahati Municipal Corporation has taken the right decision on imposing a fine against spitters on public properties. These days the issue of spitting on the sidewalls of flyovers and roads of Guwahati has become a matter of concern for our citizens as well as the aforementioned authorities (GMC). The issue of such unscrupulous acts is evident almost in every town of Assam. It's unfortunate that despite the mega campaign Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and another awareness program on cleanliness, some people are yet to learn to respect public properties. What surprises me the most is spitting on the paintings - on flyover- depicting the rich culture of Assam. Better late than never, it's high time we realised the importance of our public property and protecting them.

Phanseng Singphoo,

Jorhat

Bad experiences with police

The experience of the public while handling with police officials, whether inside or outside a Police Station, is mostly a nightmare. Somehow, there is almost always an antagonistic approach from the policemen. While dealing with police officials at a higher rung may be better, the fact remains that the public in general, deal with the lower rung of the police system, including the home guards. The experience is, generally, not palatable. There are middlemen (commonly referred to as 'dalals') involved almost everywhere to settle any issue or case with the police – of course in lieu of "fees", and this illegal modus operandi of the 'dalals' and a section of policemen is deep rooted in the system. Least to say, it smacks of corruption.

Unless the ground realities at the bottom of the policing system change, the experience of the public would continue to remain bitter. There is lack of accountability and lack of regulation. This needs to be addressed with sensitivity, by the political, administrative and police machinery at the earliest.

D. Bhutia,

Guwahati - 781024

Unhealthy city bus services in Guwahati

Through your esteemed daily, I want to draw the attention of the government to the unhealthy and improper mode of city bus services in Guwahati. We all are aware of how the pandemic has affected us in these two years. Many students have lost their valuable academic year and many faced a terrible economic collapse. Covid forced us to adopt the new normal which is unwanted. In recent days it is seen that Covid cases have been rising again and we don't want to waste any of the precious moments of our life due to the irresponsibility and negligence of a few people. Most people in Guwahati, be it the office workers and students, rely on the city bus services daily. But it has been observed that they do not maintain basic Covid protocol and don't even bother to wear the masks. The conductors still shout 'Khali gari' even when the buses are fully packed with passengers. It has not only been risking individuals' lives but also bringing them closer to a lockdown type situation. It is high time the government issued some strict guidelines. So I urge the department concerned to look into the matter and take the necessary steps as soon as possible.

Dipika Barman

MA first semester, communication and journalism department,

Gauhati University.

Too little, too late

After two disastrous outings against Pakistan and New Zealand, Team India, later on, manage to beat minnows but their journey ended in the group stages. The team management is blaming toss loss but anyone with an iota of knowledge about the game understands that fierce intensity with the Indian players was certainly missing. The playing eleven on the field were completely disjointed with signs of fatigue very much visible in their body language. Another aspect was the team selection. Indian management rested the champion off-spinner Ashwin when the leading spinners of other teams were creating havoc in spin-friendly pitches in UAE. Though, it was seen that team winning the toss had a certain advantage and India was unlucky with the call of the coin against formidable Pakistan and New Zealand because dew played a major role in the late evening in deciding the outcome of the match. Team India's victory against minnows was too little, and it came too late.

Immediately after the T20 World Cup fiasco, Team India will lock horns with the Kiwis. As usual, the public memory is short and naturally, BCCI will take that into account and hype the next bilateral series with Kiwis so that cricket crazy fans forget their team's disastrous outing in the ICC T20 World Cup.

Dr Ashim Chowdhury,

Ambari, Guwahati

Of soiled notes

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had introduced new currency notes of all denominations in varied colours after the Modi government came to power, mostly post-demonstration. The main advantage of these notes is that they are wallet-friendly in the sense that the notes easily fit into standard wallets compared with the earlier ones which are comparatively bigger and hence do not fit properly into the money bags thereby sometimes mutilating the notes. However, it is observed that many of the new notes, particularly of Rs 200, Rs 50 and Rs 10 denominations, fade away quickly. The paper also becomes very thin and becomes almost unusable. Moreover, the security thread wears out making the currency notes invalid. It appears the quality of paper, the security ink and other materials used in these currency notes are not of high standards. Hence I request the RBI, monetary authority of India, to withdraw the soiled notes of Rs10, Rs 50 and Rs 200 denominations from circulation immediately and print fresh currency notes using durable and good quality materials. The time has also come for implementing the plastic note policy to avoid frequent wear and tear of paper currencies.

Rajib Sarma,

Guwahati

The acid test for State Government

The phrase 'morning shows the day' reminds me to write a few lines about the BJP-led Government under the leadership of Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma. Generally, we used the term litmus test in Chemistry to see the strength or pH value of Acids and Bases. This term is also held good in the case of the ruling Government in Assam.

Today, I am going to analyse some of the points in your most popular esteemed daily about the achievement of the new government which helps to make us happy and also some of the points which we are expecting from the government to fulfil them in future. They are:

(i) Rate of vaccination drive: 97% vaccination for the first dose by the end of November is a key point that indicates Government is well concerned about the life of every citizen.

(ii) Dalaal Raj system: Eliminating the system of Dalaal Raj or middlemen in Government offices or police stations bring faith in the government machinery.

(iii) Fight against drugs: Fight against the drug peddlers to reform society.

(iv ) Implementation of e- governance: To give utmost priority to Information technology (IT) in all Government sectors by introducing various Apps applications to make the system more mobilized and faithful, which helps the public to come closer to the Government.

There are certain points if the Government gives more emphasis to win the heart forever. They are:

( a ) Proper utilization of natural resources, like water, mineral, forest, coal and natural gas, etc.

(b) Proper utilization of human resources: By creating jobs based on the systematic study of any work and replacing the old rule of thumb method by developing a scientific method.

(c) Control of food and soil erosions through scientific study, if possible take the help of foreign experts.

(d) Selection of employees in government offices according to their skills, development and abilities.

(e) Systematic study of work in government offices in Assam to reduce the overburden or loads.

(f) Giving justice to the dropped school and college teachers who are giving their services for more than 8 years in various government recognized schools and colleges in the state without remuneration from the government.

It is true that being a student of Science and Public Administration, I am always advocating Taylor's theory of Scientific Management. Side by side, I am also expecting that our ruling Government in Assam to follow its principles to some extent to make our system more transparent, systematic and faithful. Then the dream of work culture will come into reality.

Indrajit Sarma,

Govind Sarma Path

Chiring Chapori, Dibrugarh

E-mail- indrajitsarma111 @gmail.com

Corona impact on students

Through your esteemed daily, I would like to draw the attention of authorities concerned over a problem being faced by the students of the city.

A majority of our city dwellers use public transport as their mode of transportation, of which a large number constitutes the students of the city. After the relaxations of the lockdown, following the Covid protocol of allowing only 50% passengers; the city buses increased their fares, in an attempt to compensate for their loss. Even though the buses aren't following any Covid measures nowadays, the passengers are still bearing the burden of increased fare. To make the situation worse, due to the lack of a well-documented distance-to-fare chart in the buses, very often the conductors demand uneven fares from the passengers. In this situation, the student community becomes the worst sufferer. On average a student has to spend a minimum of 1500 to 2000 rupees per month only on their conveyance, which is not a small amount for a student who is dependent on their family for their expenditures. Thus, if the concerned authorities subsidize the fares for the students, that would ease their burden to a greater extent.

Bhrubajyoti Malakar,

First semester, Department

of Communication and

Journalism, Gauhati

University.

Longest flyover in the city to reduce traffic

The Supermarket flyover in Guwahati was opened for road traffic on the day of Dipawali. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma dedicated the flyover to the state's people.

The flyover will considerably reduce traffic congestion at the Supermarket by diverting traffic from Ganeshguri to Last Gate.

It will also ensure hassle-free traffic movement from Khanapara to Ganeshguri and facilitate smooth traffic from Last Gate to Ganeshguri.

A capital city always signifies the glory of an entire state. Completion of the Supermarket flyover in a record time testifies the rate of development that is sweeping the entire state. The infrastructural development of the city augurs well for the development of the entire state. The flyover is expected to significantly reduce traffic snarls in the area. The new bridge will make hassle-free traffic movement for the general public.

Trinayana Bhattacharjya.

Gauhati University